Hope has a Place
By: merlinstalker
"Turbulence is life force. It is opportunity. Let's love turbulence and use it for change."
--Ramsay Clark
Chapter 2
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Kagura Onigumi had often been called a tease.
A term she earned well. She held great pride in this ability; after all, it often got her what she wanted.
Especially when it came to men.
Men had to be broken and molded beneath her fingers to fit her desires. She especially loved stubborn men. The game was always more enjoyable when the hunted resisted. Though it seemed with one particular stubborn man she had out lived her usefulness.
Kagura's reddish brown eyes peered over the glossy magazine at her soon to be ex-husband. They sat on opposites sides of a long conference table. As usual the permanently bored expression was planted on his features; his narrowed golden eyes stared at some distance spot behind her. His long silver hair was free from binding and lay on his shoulders traveling down his back. He wore a black Armani suit and a red silk tie tucked discretely down his jacket.
He was posed, perfected, and completely rigid.
Next to Sesshomaru sat a short man in his late thirties with greasy black hair and green eyes. His name was Jaken Kimura, Sesshomaru's personal attendant or toady as Kagura liked to think. Kagura red-brown eyes glared at the man and she smirked in satisfaction as the man shifted uncomfortably under gaze. Jaken Kimura had worked for Sesshomaru for several years. How exactly the sniveling little man had managed to convince Sesshomaru to hire him was a mystery to her. The fact that Jaken would do anything that Sesshomaru told him to do was probably the only reason that she could think.
Kagura didn't doubt that Jaken had encouraged her husband to go ahead with the divorce. Not that Sesshomaru listened to Jaken's suggestions but Kagura remembered hearing Jaken's complaints about her. The little man amused her really; after all, he was under the great impression that he was an indispensable asset to Sesshomaru.
Kagura snorted and looked at her magazine again. What the little man would soon discover if he hadn't already was that no one was indispensable to Sesshomaru.
She wasn't surprised by the sudden turn of events. She knew sooner or later that Sesshomaru would grow tired of her. It was inevitable. Just as she grew tired of all of her "amusements" as Sesshomaru described her flings.
Kagura was never under the illusion that she had Sesshomaru under her thumb. Because of her flings, she had very useful resources in the business world, and as such, she became a very useful resource, one that Sesshomaru would never pass by. So their marriage had been one of convenience.
Sesshomaru had been perfectly clear on the arrangements of their marriage. She provided him with useful and pertinent information as well as contacts, and she would get his formidable last name and a very substantial allowance.
Though she couldn't help but wonder what particular event had pushed Sesshomaru to a divorce. Hmmm…the pool boy…no…that intern…no, no…ahh perhaps the client…
Kagura sniffed dignity. He hadn't been a particularly good client. No, nor was he particular good at other things…
If Sesshomaru was divorcing her for him, she wished it had been for a better fling.
Mentally Kagura shrugged. Oh, well…
Ten years…
Kagura was surprised that their marriage had lasted that long. Well, at least she got a ten-year shopping spree out of it.
A throat being cleared interrupted Kagura's thoughts and she lowered her magazine to look at the decrepit human being at the end of the conference table.
The decrepit human being was Myouga Maeda, a short balding man with bushy white eyebrows and a nervous disposition. He had worked for the Inutaisho family for most of his career. Sesshomaru's father had met Myouga as a young man in Japan and hired him for his unique talents in the art of glib. At the present the old lawyer had the distinct pleasure of running the divorce proceedings for Mr. Inutaisho's eldest son.
Myouga cleared his throat again and Sesshomaru shifted his golden eyes to the old lawyer. Myouga shifted nervously and flipped through his papers.
"The soon to be ex-Mrs. Inutaisho will requlinsh the use of her ex-husband's name and will return to her maiden name of Onigumi in exchange for a $50,000 allowance each month from her ex-husband, and the custody of the child, Rin Inutaisho, will remain with her father Sesshomaru Inutaisho. Are these terms agreed on?"
Myouga paused and presented the document to Kagura. After a minute passed with no sign of Kagura accepting it Myouga swallowed hard and glanced between Kagura and Sesshomaru. Kagura ran her thumb along the magazine's edge as her reddish brown eyes stared into her ex-husband's golden ones.
So this was it…
She had considered fighting Sesshomaru for the custody of their child. Not that she really wanted the kid but to annoy her husband one last time had been to hard to resist. Kagura continued to glare at her husband in hopes to irritate him but his golden eyes remained passive.
Jaken shifted restless next to his boss. Myouga cleared his throat again; Kagura's red lips quirked in amusement.
"Very well," Kagura snatched the pen and legal document from Myouga. She scrawled her signature next to the bright red 'x'. Myouga released a breath he had been holding and his body lost its rigidness. Kagura stood up and glared down at the balding lawyer.
"Are we done?" she asked
"Yes…" Myouga began
"Good I'll be expecting my check in a few weeks," Kagura turned to leave but paused as she opened the office door. She glanced sidewise over her shoulder with a smirk, her red brown eyes mischievous.
"See you around, Mr. Inutaisho,"
Sesshomaru watched indifferent as his ex-wife walked out of his life. Sesshomaru stood up and straightened out his suit's invisible wrinkles.
"Ha, good riddance to that over-zealous golddig—", Jaken Kimura scrambled to his feet, his green eyes bright.
"Jaken, bring around the car," Sesshomaru instructed.
"Y-yes, Mr. Inutaisho," Jaken stammered and hurried out.
Sesshomaru turned his golden gaze to Myouga.
"Is everything taken care of?"
The old lawyer nodded. "Everything that needed to be signed is right here. Once I record this and file it away, you'll be legally divorced and Rin will be yours. Everything's in order,"
"Good, see that it stays that way," Sesshomaru turned to leave.
Sesshomaru left the conference room and his father's nervous lawyer behind. He walked towards the stainless steel elevators ignoring the curious glances from various employees. He pushed the down button and stared at his reflection in the glossy gray tones of the elevator doors. His face was pale and smooth with high check bones and a slender nose. His features had often been described to him as almost delicate. His waist length silver-white hair was free from binding and cascaded down his back and shoulders. A contrast to his pale features was his eyes. They were a distinct golden hue. The eyes of a predator someone once told him.
As one of the top most powerful and wealthiest men in the nation he figured he earned the titled. The elevator finally opened with a ding and several employees scrambled out of his way as he entered. He watched the descending numbers in silence as he considered the social implications of his divorce. Undoubtedly there would be several wives of CEOs showing their incredible concern for his welfare and his daughter's by sending gift baskets, homemade food, and occasionally the single daughter his way. He'd make sure to inform Jaken to deal with all unnecessary annoyances like that.
He exited on the ground floor and entered his awaiting limousine.
"Mr. Inutaisho, the office called and I told them we were on our way. They side the CEO wanted to talk about—," Jaken began.
"No, go to St. Mary's," Sesshomaru cut him off.
"Wha—,"
"My daughter will be getting out of school shortly,"
"But I can send another car to--," Jaken stammered. His green eyes stared confused at his boss's reflection in the rearview mirror. Sesshomaru turned to glare back at his aid's questioning eyes.
"Ye-yes sir,"
Sesshomaru turned back to watching the scenery flow past.
His daughter. He used the term loosely. He very much doubted that the child was actually he's. Kagura's notorious amusements left little doubt in his mind about that. Besides the child was nothing like him physically or mentally. She did not carry any of the physical attributes that were inherited in his family line. He supposed he could have pawned the child off onto Kagura but he knew that Kagura would have insisted that the girl keep her father's name. It was a bargaining piece he would never allow Kagura to have. Moreover if the child was going to carry his name then he would decide her future.
The limousine pulled along the sidewalk then came to stop. The private elementary school had just left out. There was a yellow school bus with teacher's aids shuffling students on while the school's sidewalk was filled with other limousines and cars. Small children in matching uniforms ran about the grassy areas in front of the school building.
"I'll go get Rin, Mr. Inustaisho," Jaken scrambled out of the driver's seat.
Sesshomaru stared out the limousine's window. Though there were many young children running around in blue and white plaid uniforms his golden eyes were able to find the one child he was looking for. The other parents would say she only stood out to him because he was her father and he knew her every movement.
Sesshomaru snorted. Hardly.
The child always had the unique ability to draw attention to herself whether it was because of that ridiculous side ponytail or that goofy smile or the little nonsense songs she make-up. She always managed to stand out.
At the moment she was parading around in a large muddy puddle, stamping her feet, splashing her nearest companions who would shriek and runaway to only return again. Her chestnut brown eyes were bright with excitement, her face flushed from the heat, and her breaths came in short eager gasps as her shiny black shoes and white socks became soaked and stained with dirty water.
Suddenly Jaken entered the picture squawking and flapping his arms about at the girl while looking nothing more than an enraged turkey. The other children fled from the deranged looking man who lectured at Rin loudly. Rin waited calmly for Jaken's outburst to finish with an innocent look that only a child could have while standing in a muddy puddle. She smiled and responded to whatever Jaken had said then continued to dance about the puddle. The dirty water splashed across his leather shoes and dark trousers. Jaken's face flushed red and he started after the child. Rin dodged his reaching hands and ran towards the waiting limousine. She slowed to a skip as she reached the black car and opened the door.
Her leg froze over the doorway as her brown eyes met golden ones.
It was only for a moment before she blinked and entered the rest of the way in. It seemed Jaken had not told her he would be in the car. He studied the child as she swung her legs back and forth while peering out the window. Her black hair was grown half way down her back and her chestnut brown eyes were widen and expressive and though her skin was fair it was not nearly the pale color of his.
No, he very much doubted that she was his child. Nevertheless, she belonged to him.
"Rin," he said.
"Hmm," the child swung her head around her humming dying in her throat though her legs continued to swing.
"Your mother has left now. She won't be back," he stated coolly. His golden eyes studied her.
Her legs stopped swinging and her mouth formed a soundless 'o', her brown eyes not wavering from his golden ones. Then she blinked and her legs continued to swing again as her gaze wandered back to the window.
Sesshomaru couldn't say he was too surprised by the child's unresponsive reaction after all it wasn't like Kagura had been a leading light in the girl's life. Besides, the girl had been briefed on what a 'divorce' was by his step-mother and Jaken. She understood that her mother would not be returning.
Jaken opened the driver's door and slid into the car muttering curses to himself as he tried to straighten out his rumpled pants. He turned the engine on and started to drive off.
Sesshomaru's golden gaze wandered away from the child to the passing scenery.
"Do you think she'll come to visit?" Rin's small voice broke the silence.
Sesshomaru turned away from the window to look at her. Her face was pressed against the window and her eyes steadily watched the retreating buildings and cars, her legs swinging in motion.
"That is a question you must ask her," he said.
Rin said nothing but hummed her song and stared out the window.